The present invention relates in general to a device for controlling the pitch or tone of a snare drum and, in particular, to a device for continuously adjusting the tension of snares which contact a drum head to control the frequency of vibration at the drum head and, therefore, the sound produced by the drum.
A snare drum is a double-headed drum comprising a hollow cylindrical shell closed at each end by skins or heads that are stretched around the peripheries of the shell and tightened by means of keys and adjustable bolts or the like. A series of tightly coiled metal wires or snares is disposed diametrically across the outer face of the lower or snare head of the drum. In conventional practice, the set of snares is held taut by a screw-type tensioning device. Since the tension of the snares cannot be adjusted while the drum is being played, the drum produces a single tone or pitch.
It should be noted that in all snare drums the frequency of vibration of the upper or batter head is controlled by the tension of the batter head, the lower or snare head and the snares. The strength of the blows to the batter head also influences the tone or pitch produced. This technique of varying the drum tone by increasing or decreasing the force of the blow to the batter head, however, requires a considerable degree of skill on the part of the drummer. As used herein the term "pitch" describes only the results obtained by changing the tension of the snares and their position relative to the snare head, rather than changes in the loudness of the note or the tension of the drum heads.
Over the years, improved tensioning devices have been developed which can displace a set of snares axially relative to a drum head and cause the snares to contact the head or to move away therefrom so that the tone of the drum can be changed. Only a limited number of tones, however, can be produced by a drum having this arrangement since one of two extremes are possible--the snares either contact the snare head or they do not.
These devices which effect axial displacement of the snares usually include levers positioned on the drum shell at points readily accessible to the hand or drum stick of the drummer. The levers are connected to assemblies within the drum shell for displacing or tensioning the snares. As with a conventional screw-type tensioning device, this construction usually requires the drummer to stop playing to operate the lever and tune the drum to the desired tone or pitch. Such devices are described below.